Invitations to epic movies are usually refused, as I don’t like special effects on a grand scale and hundreds of extras on screen. I was invited to a screening of the film ‘Noah’, a fundraiser for Soroptomist International. I was surprisingly not bored as Russell Crowe’s performance held my attention. The colour palate of the scenery and costumes is quite dark and plain so the characters personalities come through. It is essentially a story about a man’s love for his family, his desire to protect them and the strength of his beliefs. It is story of life and death, love and evil, giving and greed. Even with the special effects such as the stone angels and violent crowd scenes the film feels very intimate and you are left with the feeling that the family will go on to explore more of the world around them and their emotions.
The Multicultural Festival was held on a beautiful sunny Tauranga day at The Historic Village (Village on 17th). A riot of colour and noise as many of the different nationalities in Tauranga showed off their food and culture. I ate Nepalese and Cambodian food and admired the colourful costumes of many different countries. Items on the stage were as diverse as Kiribati dancers and drummers, Bay Salsa dance troupe, American cheerleaders, and the Korean fan dancers in their pretty hot pink and lime costumes.
The exhibition ‘Broken’ was on show at The Incubator space at the Village. Some of the images were hard to look at as they depicted the subjects of war and injustice. In our country they seem like TV news items but to many people these events were part of their life before they came to our peaceful country.
Also on display in the old Mount Maunganui schoolhouse was an exhibition of flax weaving, some garments and items in traditional styles and some in brighter colours and more modern versions of bodices and cloaks. The patterns and colours were beautiful. An interesting day out enjoyed by a lot of families and it is not every day you see a young Japanese girl waiting at a 15th Avenue bus stop in a beautiful kimono.
The old historic homestead, Okorere, was also open. I had recently discovered some old photo albums that belonged to my grandparents and there were photos of people standing outside Okorere at Otumoetai. The house was named after the land it was built on and belonged to the Faulkner family. It was hard to believe John Lees Faulkner and his Maori wife, Ruawahine had 12 children and lived in that house. You can hear stories read from journals written at the time and two rooms are furnished in the style of the day as well as a number of photographs and text displayed in the front room of the house. There was no place cooler than the verandah of that house on such a hot day in Tauranga and I was transported to a different time as I sat on the steps overlooking the garden.
On the 2nd Sunday of every month you can head along to The Entertainers Club. It is held at the Tauranga Citz Club in 13th Ave , upstairs from 5pm to 8pm. The cost is $10 with door sales from 4.30 pm. The bar is open and you can get bar snacks, meals for $12 or anything from the full restaurant menu.
There are three musical acts which is good value for $10 and they vary every month. Featuring on the night I visited were Bay Dixie, featuring a traditional Dixie band line up of tuba, banjo, cornet, trombone and clarinet. They had the crowd toe tapping from the minute they started.
The Alan Harbourne Quartet featured musicians from Australia and New Zealand and played jazz standards with a few classical music intros thrown in and Two’s Company, a duo who both sang and played keyboards and guitar. Their repertoire included songs from Van Morrison, Eagles, and Billy Joel to name a few.
For enquiries about The Entertainers Club contact Bruce Lannam 027 4735 644 or www.facebook.com/taurangaentertainersclub
The Antiques and Collectibles Fair was held at Bethlehem Town Centre and this year Rotary were fundraising for Homes of Hope. I enjoy meeting traders who love their products and especially when they know the history of their stock. A lot of the items at these shows also evoke memories of our grandparent’s houses, or visiting old aunts for afternoon tea.
